THE 



WORCESTEE DISTRICT 
IN CONGRESS 



FROM 1789 TO 1857 



THE 



WORCESTER DISTRICT IN CONGRESS, 
From 1789 to 1857: 



A PAPER 

Rtatj eefo££ The Worcestek Sooeit of Asrivycur. 
JrvE iiTH, 1889. 



By FRAKKUN P: iUCE. 



SBCXKD MjmUBL 



WORCESTER. MASSACHUSETTS 

iSoo. 



i- 






THE WORCESTER DISTRICT 
IN CONGRESS. 



On the 20th clay of November, 1788, the State of Massa- 
chusetts was, by a Resolve of the General Court, divided 
into eight Congressional Districts, to correspond with the 
number of Representatives provisionally apportioned in 
the Federal Constitution. Previous to this time eleven 
States had manifested their approval and acceptance of 
that instrument, and the people were impatient to see the 
new government in operation. December i8th was the 
day appointed in this State for the election of Representa- 
tives to the First Congress, and the occasion was awaited 
with much interest. 

This first election was closely contested. Organized 
political parties did not then exist, but there were two great 
classes in the community naturally opposed to each other. 
One comprised generally the wealthy, and those of pro- 
fessional and commercial interests — mostly inhabitants of 
the large towns ; the other was made up principally of 
those who depended upon their labor for their living, the 



yeomanry being the most numerous. The former class 
advocated the Constitution, the latter distrusted it. Certain 
well-known causes had brought these forces into collision 
a short time before, and the excitement occasioned by a 
formidable insurrection had scarcely been allayed when 
the Convention called to ratify the Constitution assembled. 
The Constitution itself narrowly escaped rejection, being 
saved by a meager majority, secured, as some of its sup- 
porters afterwards boasted, by hoodwinking and cajoling 
the two champions of popular rights, Adams and Hancock. 
But the Constitution adopted, the people entered upon the 
experiment with zeal, one element with the determination 
to prove by demonstration the wisdom of its provisions ; 
the other hoping to remedy by modification and addition 
certain alleged defects in the document. Federalists and 
Antifederalists were distinguishing terms. 

The eight Congressional Districts of Massachusetts and 
its outlying province of Maine were designated as follows : 

The county of Suffolk to form one district. 

The county of Essex to form one district. 

The county of Middlesex to form one district. 

The county of Worcester to form one district. 

The counties of Hampshire and Berkshire to form one 
district. 

The counties of Plymouth and Barnstable to form one 
district. 

The counties of Bristol, Dukes and Nantucket to form 
one district. 

The counties of York, Cumberland and Lincoln, in the 
District of Maine, to form one district. 

The result of the election showed the relative strength 
of the two classes. In the_Suffolk District Samuel Adams, 
the illustrious patriot (who, according to the Massaclmsetts 
Spy, was opposed, as the cause of the Revolution, by all 
the old tories), was defeated by the young and untried 
Fisher Ames, who had gained distinction by his ready 



5 

eloquence in the State Convention, and was sustained 
by the aristocratic influence in Boston. In the Middlesex 
District, Elbridge Gerry, the popular candidate, received a 
bare majority after two trials. Thacher, presumably a Fed- 
eralist, was elected in the Maine District. Goodhue, Leon- 
ard, Partridge and Sedgwick were Federalists, the last 
named prevailing on the second trial. 

In the Worcester District two candidates — Jonathan 
Grout, of Petersham, and Timothy Paine, of Worcester — 
received the principal support of their respective parties. 
Grout, although a lawyer, had sympathized with the insur- 
gents during the Shays rebellion, and was known as a pro- 
nounced Antifederalist. Paine had been a tory of the mild 
stripe in the Revolution, and had readily regained the favor 
of the community in which he lived by his cheerful acqui- 
escence in the new order. He was a man of wealth and 
influence, and was supported by the Federalists. 

Three trials were necessary before a choice was effected. 
On the second Paine received a plurality of the votes, 
Artemas Ward appearing as a candidate of some strength, 
and drawing from both sides. These failures prolonged 
the contest through the winter, with increasing excitement 
and ill feeling. The merits and demerits of the candidates 
were set forth with earnestness in the public print, and 
discussed in private with acrimony, Paine was denounced 
as a tory, an aristocrat, and an enemy to the common peo- 
ple. The objections to Grout were, that in education and 
ability he was Paine's inferior, and that he had large prop- 
erty interests in Vermont and New Hampshire. A third 
attempt on the 2d of March, 1789, resulted in Grout's 
election by a small majority. He took his seat as a member 
of the First Congress, and served until the 4th of March, 
1 79 1, when he retired, having been defeated at the previous 
election by Artemas Ward. 

Jonathan Grout, the first Representative in Congress 
from the Worcester District, was born in Lunenburg, 



Massachusetts, July 23d, 1737. He. was a soldier in the 
Canadian war of 1757-60, and also in the War for Independ- 
ence. Previous to the Revolution he studied law and 
settled in Petersham, where he gave some attention to the 
cultivation of a large farm. He was a member of the Legis- 
lature before his election to Congress. In 1803 he removed 
to Lunenburg, Vermont, and died at Dover, New Hamp- 
shire, while attending court, September 8th, 1807. 

In 1790, three candidates appeared in the field— Grout ; 
Artemas Ward, of Shrewsbury ; and John Sprague, of Lan- 
caster. On the first attempt, October 4th, there was no 
choice, and another was ordered to take place November 
26th, when Ward was chosen by a small majority. This 
election was probably contested on personal grounds, for 
the opposition of the Antifederalists, so much feared by 
the Conservatives, had proved insignificant. The amend- 
ments to the Constitution passed by the First Congress 
had quieted and conciliated the discontented, and in the 
matter of policy there now seemed to be no dividing line. 

In 1792 Ward, Grout and Paine were the candidates. 
Ward again prevailing. After serving his second term, he 
voluntarily withdrew. 

Artemas Ward, Representative from 1791 to 1795 is 
chiefly known to fame as the first Major-General of the 
Revolutionary Army. Born at Shrewsbury November 27th, 
1727, he graduated at Harvard College in 1748, and enter- 
ing the Provincial service became a lieutenant-colonel. He 
was commissioned by the Continental Congress, and took 
command of the troops before Boston, but was soon super- 
seded by Washington. He was member of the Massachu- 
setts House of Representatives fifteen years, and its 
Speaker in 1785 ; and was also Chief Justice of the Court 
of Common Pleas, It was in the latter station that he met 
and sternly rebuked Shays's insurgents at Worcester, 
while threatened with personal violence by the rebels, 
some of whom pressed the points of their bayonets against 



his breast. In Congress he did not distinguish himself by 
any noteworthy effort in debate, for he was not a man of 
ready or graceful speech, but his influence was undoubtedly 
of weight. Between him and Washington an antipathy 
had existed from the first ; the latter unjustly charged his 
predecessor in command with cowardice, and the feeling 
culminated during Ward's term in Congress in the suspen- 
sion of all intercourse with the President. General Ward 
died at Shrewsbury, October 27th, 1800. 

In 1792 the counties of Worcester, Hampshire and Berk- 
shire were formed into one District, called the Second, and 
four Representatives were to be chosen. Under this arrange- 
ment Dwight Foster, of Brookfield, was elected to the Third 
Congress. A new division of the State, June 26th, 1794, 
included in one District — known as the Fourth Western — 
the towns in Worcester County, with the exception of West- 
ern, Petersham, New Braintree, Barre, Sturbridge, Athol, 
Templeton, Royalston, Gerry, Winchendon, Gardner and 
Hardwick ; and Mr. Foster was chosen the successor of 
General Ward in November, his competitor being Judge 
Levi Lincoln, of Worcester. Foster continued to represent 
the District till his elevation to the Senate in 1800, prevail- 
ing over Lincoln in 1796 and 1798. 

Dwight Foster, the Representative from 1795 to 1800, 
was born in Brookfield, December 7th, 1757. He graduated 
at Brown University in 1774, studied law, and practised in 
his native town ; held the offtce of Sheriff, and was several 
years a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. After serv- 
ing in both branches of the State Legislature, he entered 
Congress in 1793, and in 1800 was elected a Senator in 
place of Samuel Dexter, who had resigned. Mr. Foster 
retired to private life in 1803, and died in Brookfield on the 
29th of x\pril, 1823. His son, Hon. Alfred Dwight Foster, 
was many years a respected citizen of Worcester ; and his 
grandson, the late Hon. Dwight Foster, Attorney-General, 
and Judge of the Supreme Court of the State, was born 
here in 1828. 



8 

Mr. Foster occasionally took part in the debates of Con- 
gress, beginning with a speech against Mr. Madison's 
commercial resolutions in January, 1794. He was promi- 
nent in the councils of his party, and possessed the 
confidence and esteem of his constituents. The period of 
his ser\'ice in the House was a momentous one ; and 
during this time political organizations were formed with 
definite lines of policy. The term Federal, for several 
years of broad signification as a party name, came to have 
a distinct meaning in designating the combination opposed 
to the political ideas of Thomas Jefferson. But this party, 
after a brief season of authority, fell never to rise again, 
and the government passed into the hands of the Republi- 
cans. The Federalists were, however, potent in certain 
localities for many years, and maintained a determined 
opposition to the party in power. 

At the election in 1800, Levi Lincoln, Republican ; Jabez 
Upham, of Brookfield, and Seth Hastings, of Mendon, 
Federalists, were the contestants ; and after three trials 
Lincoln was declared elected, both for the remainder of 
Mr. Foster's term and the next Congress. He served from 
the 6th of February to the 4th of March, 1 801, when he 
resigned to accept the office of Attorney-General in Presi- 
dent Jefferson's Cabinet. 

Levi Linxoln was born in Hingham, Massachusetts, 
May 15th, 1749. He learned the art of a blacksmith, 
which he abandoned for pursuits more congenial, and enter- 
ing Harvard College, graduated in 1772. After studying 
law he settled in Worcester, where he rapidly rose in his 
profession. He was an ardent patriot in the Revolution, 
and was prominently identified with public measures in the 
State. In Worcester he was Clerk of the Courts for a 
short time, and Judge of Probate from 1777 to 1781. He 
represented the town in the General Court of 1796, and the 
next year was a member of the State Senate. Retiring 
from the Cabinet in 1805, he was successively Councillor 



Lieutenant-Governor, and for a few months, after the death 
James Sullivan, in 1808, Governor of the State. In 181 1 he 
was appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of 
the United States, but declined the honor. Judge Lincoln 
died at his home in Worcester on the 14th of April, 1820. 
He was a man of broad mind and humane instincts ; a 
writer of marked ability and a voluminous correspondent ; 
a scientific farmer before Elkanah Watson ; and the confi- 
dential friend of Jefferson. He was long the head of the 
Massachusetts Bar. His sons, Levi, Enoch and William, 
worthily sustained the reputation of their sire. 

On the 22d of June, 1801, an attempt to elect a Repre- 
sentative to succeed Lincoln failed, the Federalists dividing 
their votes between Upham and Hastings ; the Democrat, 
John Whiting, of Lancaster, receiving a plurality. Upham 
then withdrew, and, on another trial, Hastings was chosen. 
For the next twenty years the District was controlled by 
the Federalists. 

Seth Hastings, Representative from 1801 to 1807, was 
born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, April 5th, 1762. He 
graduated from Harvard College in 1782, and in 1786 
settled in Mendon, where he established an extensive legal 
practice. He was a member of the State Senate from 1810 
to 1 812, and Chief Justice of the Court of Sessions for this 
County from 1819 to 1828. He died in Mendon November 
19th, 1 83 1. His son, William S. Hastings, also became a 
member of Congress. 

March loth, 1802, the County was divided into two Dis- 
tricts. The Worcester South District included New Brain- 
tree, Spencer, Leicester, Worcester, Shrewsbury, North- 
borough and Southborough, with all the towns south of 
these in the County. At that time there were seventeen 
Districts in the State. 

The candidate put forward by the Democrats at the 
elections of 1802 and 1804 was Edward Bangs, of Worces- 
ter, who also contested with Upham in 1806 and i8o8. 



10 

Another prominent Democrat was John Spurr, of Charlton, 
who was supported by his party in 1810 and 18 14. Estes 
Howe, of Sutton, was the defeated candidate in 1812. 

Jabez Upham succeeded Seth Hastings in 1807, and was 
re-elected two years later. Before the expiration of his 
second term he resigned in consequence of ill health, and 
died November 8th, 181 1. He was born in Brookfield in 
1764, and graduated at Harvard College in 1785. He was 
a lawyer of reputation and large practice. 

Joseph Allen, of Worcester, was chosen to fill the 
vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Mr. Upham, 
and served during the last session of the Eleventh Con- 
gress, from December, 1810, to March, 181 1. He declined 
reelection, though clearly the choice of his party. A man 
of quiet tastes and peaceful disposition, he naturally 
dreaded the turmoil of public life ; and the vivid delinea- 
tion given by his friend, William Stedman (who had repre- 
sented the Worcester North District), of the furious com- 
bats in the House, in which Josiah Quincy, chief gladiator 
among the Federalists, was the central figure, had not favor- 
ably inclined him towards the service. Stedman himself 
probably found the politics of the times too strong for his 
taste, and resigning with Upham in 18 10, had succeeded 
Allen as Clerk of the Courts. It may be mentioned here, 
that two later Representatives of the North District — 
Abijah Bigelow and Joseph G. Kendall — found, on retiring 
from Congress, a comfortable asylum in the County Office 
at Worcester. 

Joseph Allen was born in Boston September 13th, 
1749. His mother was a sister of Samuel Adams. He 
removed to Worcester from Leicester, where he had en- 
gaged in trade, in 1776, and was appointed Clerk of the 
Courts. This office he resigned in 18 10. He was three 
years a member of the Executive Council, and twice a 
Presidential Elector. In educational matters he had a deep 



1 1 

interest, and did much for the advancement of sound learn- 
ing. He died on the ist of September, 1827. Two of his 
sons, George and Charles, were distinguished in later 
times. 

The next Representative was Elijah Brigham of West- 
borough, whose term extended through the memorable 
period of the War with Great Britain. Mr. Brigham was 
an earnest partisan, and, it is presumed, fully sustained the 
efforts of his faction to harass the Administration. His 
name appears among those signed to the protest against 
the declaration of war, in June, 1812 ; and he acted and 
voted in Congress with the minority in all matters of im- 
portance. He was a man of strong character and plain 
speech. We have from an aged inhabitant a reminiscence 
of his interview with General Hull soon after the surren- 
der of Detroit. The latter was proceeding to his home in 
Newton after his release by the British, and met Judge 
Brigham at Westborough, who reproached him, particularly 
for denying, in his proclamation to the Canadians, the 
rights of war to those who employed savage allies, and 
then, through fear of retaliation, losing his moral strength 
in the emergency that followed. The heart of the unfor- 
tunate general was no lighter as he went his way. 

Elijah Brigham, Representative from 1811 to 18 16, was 
born in Westborough, July 7th, 175 1. He graduated at 
Dartmouth College in 1778, and studied law but did not 
practise. For several years he was a merchant in his native 
town, and during this time served in both branches of the 
General Court, twelve years as Senator. He was two 
years a Councillor, and sixteen years Judge of the Court 
of Common Pleas. He died suddenly at Washington, Feb- 
ruary 22d, 1 816. 

In 1812, six towns — Hardwick, Petersham, Dana and 
Barre, in this County ; Hopkinton and Holliston, in Mid- 
dlesex — were added to the Worcester District. Another 
change in 18 14 took from it Barre, Dana, Southborough 
2 



I 2 

and Holliston, and added Oakham and Paxton. The 
State (including Maine) then comprised twenty Districts. 
Benjamin Adams, of Uxbridge, came next in order, as 
the successor of Elijah Brigham. The Democrats at this 
time presented Dr. Abraham Lincoln, of Worcester, a 
brother of the elder Le\-i Lincoln, as their candidate ; and 
in iSi8 they supported Sumner Bastow, of Sutton. Mr. 
Adams entered Congress to find a new and important sub- 
ject claiming the consideration of our national legislators. 
The few years preceding and during the war had witnessed 
a great development of the manufactiuing industries in 
this countr}-. During that time native resources and in- 
genuity were taxed to the utmost to supply the wants of a 
beleaguered people ; and numerous mills and factories 
sprung up which flourished in a good degree while hostil- 
ities were in progress. In New England, and Massachu- 
setts especially, was this enterprise \-isible more than in 
other parts. The sudden opening of the ports, and influx 
of European products following the peace, brought many 
of these establishments to a stand-still ; and their owners 
were soon clamoring at the doors of Congress for relief, 
which -w-as in some measure afforded by a bill passed in 
1 8 1 6. But certain articles — particularly cotton and woollen 
fabrics — were left inadequately protected against foreign 
competition. Mr. Adams, many of whose constituents 
were among the complainants, heartily espoused the cause 
of the manufacturers, and exerted himself to secure the 
passage of an act suited to their requirements ; and this 
was nearly accomplished in 1820. But it appears that our 
Representative either misunderstood or did not regard the 
sentiment of his State, which, strange as it may seem, was 
in direct opposition to what it has since been, and is to- 
day. The farmers of that time were keenly alive to their 
own interests; and v^^th them joined the shopkeepers of 
Boston, who had taken alarm at the threatened restrictions 
upon commerce. To prevent further action by Congress, a 



meeting was held in Faneuil Hall, over which William 
Gray, the merchant-prince presided ; and Daniel Webster 
made a sonorous speech in support of resolutions to the 
efifect, that a protective tariff would diminish industr)', im- 
pede prosperity, and corrupt the morals of the people. The 
current of opinion thus directed, augmented by the artful 
management of his opponent, was too strong for Mr, Adams 
to withstand, and he went under ; but with commendable in- 
dependence defended his course to the end. He appeared 
as a candidate in 1822, and was again defeated. 

Ben-jamin ADAiLS, Representative from 18 16 to 1821, 
was an able lawyer and a useful public man. He was bom 
in Mendon on the i8th of Decenaber, 1764, and died in 
Uxbridge March 28th, 1837. A graduate of Brown Uni- 
versity in 1788. He was in both branches of the State 
Legislature before he went to Congress, and again a State 
Senator from 1822 to 1825. 

Jonathan Russell came into the District in 1818 with the 
prestige resulting from a successful diplomatic career, and 
the promise of a still more brilliant future. Fixing his resi- 
dence in Mendon, he entered actively into local politics 
with the evident intention of supplanting the incumbent in 
Congress, and accomplished his purpose two years later. 
Mr. Russell was an early, if not the first e.xample of a 
" Northern man with Southern principles," and freely ex- 
pressed the opinion that the North had no right to restrict 
the South in the matter of the extension of slaver}-. Mr. 
Adams was as strongly of the opposite belief, but was de- 
feated, notw-ithstanding the aroused anti-slavery sentiment 
attending the admission of Missouri into the Union ; the 
tariff issue, as before stated, just then over-balancing even 
this consideration in the local mind 

Ha\-ing overthrown one Adams, Mr. Russell, after his 
entrance into Congress, attempted the ruin of another, 
soon to become the most important figure in the National 
Government ; but in this a woful disappointment awaited 



14 

him, and caused him to retire at the end of his term over- 
whelmed with disgrace and chagrin. Briefly told, this is 
the story. As one of the Commissioners to negotiate the 
treaty of peace with Great Britain, Mr. Russell had been 
associated with John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Albert 
Gallatin and James A. Bayard. Two of these gentlemen 
— Adams and Clay — were at the time of Russell's election 
to Congress rival aspirants to the Presidency to succeed 
Mr. Monroe. Andrew Jackson and William H. Crawford 
also appeared as candidates. Mr. Adams, from his position 
as Secretary of State, and from other circumstances, had 
a decided advantage ; and the Southern element combined 
to effect his destruction. Of these conspirators Russell 
became the willing tool, and deliberately charged Mr. 
Adams with treachery to his trust at Ghent, and a willing- 
ness to sacrifice Southern and Western interests when it 
was proposed to grant to the British the free navigation of 
the Mississippi in exchange for the right to fish at New- 
foundland. In response to a resolution of the House of 
Representatives, Russell furnished what he declared to be 
a copy of a letter written by himself to Mr. Monroe as 
Secretary of State in 1815, in which the offensive charges 
were made. The original of this letter could not be found 
at the State Department, a fact of which the conspirators 
were probably aware before the call for the copy was made ; 
but, unfortunately for their cause, it turned, up in the pos- 
session of Mr. Monroe, and was found to differ essentially 
from the spurious substitute, in being innocuous in criti- 
cism of the man they were trying to injure. Our Repre- 
sentative could not face the storm of indignation and scorn 
that followed, and he retreated into obscurity. Mr. Adams's 
advance to the Presidency was materially aided by this 
affair and its unexpected result. 

Jonathan Russell, Representative from 1821 to 1823, 
was born in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1771, and grad- 
uated at Brown University in 1791. A merchant in his 



15 

native city for several years. Mr. Madison appointed him 
to the diplomatic service in France, and he was afterwards 
transferred to England, where he was Charge d'Affaires 
when war was declared in 1812. He became Minister to 
Sweden in 18 14, and was one of the Commissioners at 
Ghent the same year. He returned to America in 1818, 
and was a member of the General Court from Mendon in 
1820. The unlucky transaction before related closed his 
public career. He died in Milton, Massachusetts, February 
i6th, 1832. Mr. Russell was a man of good abilities and a 
writer of force and elegance. 

Jonas Sibley, of Sutton, was the next Representative, 
serving from 1823 to 1825. He was elected over Benjamin 
Adams, nominally as a Democrat ; but party spirit was 
then dead, and names signified little. Mr. Sibley was de- 
feated in 1824. He was born in Sutton in 1762, and died 
there in 1834. He was many years a member of the Legis- 
lature, and held other public offices. 

Two men now came to the front, who together exerted a 
controlling force in the politics of this region for the next 
quarter of a century. Levi Lincoln and John Davis, so 
long associated for party purposes, were at first of different 
political principles. Lincoln, just entering public life at 
the time of the last war with Great Britain, took a wise 
and patriotic course, and in the Massachusetts Legislature 
boldly rebuked the seditious spirit by which that body was 
influenced, and tried to stem the current of madness 
then threatening destruction to the Nation. Davis was 
charged by his political opponents in later years with hav- 
ing manifested exultation by throwing up his hat in the 
public street of Worcester when the news of the burning 
of Washington by the British was received ; which charge, 
it is only fair to state, he vehemently denied. It is well 
known, however, that he was ardent as a Federalist, and 
after the conflict he helped to swell the cry, " What have 
we gained by the War ?" — a question no American would 



i6 

think of asking to-day. But when the " Era of Good Feel- 
ing " came, previous records were blotted out, and men of 
different proclivities combined for a common object. Levi 
Lincoln entered in 1825 upon his non-partisan nine years' 
administration as Governor, and John Davis was brought 
forward at the same time as a candidate for Congress, to 
which he was elected in August, 1825, after four trials. 
Jonas Sibley and Sumner Bastow were his opponents. 
From that time till his resignation he met no opposition 
worthy of mention, and was four times reelected by almost 
unanimous votes. 

John Davis, Representative from 1825 to 1834, was a 
native of Northborough, born January 13th, 1787. He 
graduated at Yale College in 1812, and studied law with 
Hon. Francis Blake of Worcester. Mr. Davis resigned his 
seat in Congress to accept the office of Governor, to which 
he was chosen by the Legislature in 1834, the popular 
election having failed. The following year he became a 
United States Senator, remaining in that station till 1841, 
when he was again| Governor for two years. He was re- 
elected to the Senate in 1845, and served till 1853. His 
death occurred at Worcester April 19th, 1854. Mr. Davis's 
course in Congress was consistent as a Northern man, and 
he was particularly distinguished as an advocate of protec- 
tion for American industries. In 1842 an immense Whig 
mass-meeting at Dayton, Ohio, nominated him for Vice- 
President on the ticket with Henry Clay ; but this arrange- 
ment was not ratified by the national convention of 1844, 
owing, it is said, to the hostility of Daniel Webster to his 
former colleague. 

The separation of Maine in 1820 left thirteen Districts 
in Massachusetts. In 1833 the State was re-divided into 
twelve Districts, designated by numbers, and Worcester 
was attached to the Fifth, which comprised most of the 
towns in the eastern half of this County. Another division 
in 1842 reduced the number of Districts in the State to ten. 



17 

Levi Lincoln represented the District from 1834 to 
1 84 1, succeeding John Davis. As part of a long and hon- 
orable public career, his service at Washington docs not, 
perhaps, need special mention. He was faithful in his al- 
legiance to the Whig party in all essential matters of party- 
policy ; but his sense of justice and right manifested itself 
at times in opposition to his political associates, and 
asserted the manly independence which was a ruling element 
in his nature. On one notable occasion he defended 
a political enemy with such ardor against the attack of a 
brother Whig, that the Democrats had his remarks printed 
for use as a campaign document. 

Governor Lincoln, as he was familiarly called, was born 
in Worcester, October 25th, 1782. He graduated at Har- 
vard College in 1802, and studied law in his father's office. 
In 1 81 2 he was a State Senator, and a member of the lower 
branch of the Legislature several times from 18 14 to 1822, 
serving as Speaker in 1822. Lieutenant-Governor in 1823, 
and a Judge of the Supreme Court in 1824. In 1825 he 
became Governor of the State. He would undoubtedly 
have been elected a Senator in Congress in 1827 had he 
not positively declined in favor of one of illustrious name. 
Who can tell what different destiny might have awaited 
this Nation had Levi Lincoln occupied the Senator's chair 
in 1830 instead of Daniel Webster ; of whom his biographer 
says, in speaking of the nullification crisis : " If he had not 
been there, it can scarcely be imagined that the hands of 
the Executive could have been strengthened by the public 
refutation of a heresy which threatened a direct obstruc- 
tion to the laws of the United States." But the conse- 
quences of the reply to Hayne cannot be illustrated by 
mere words. 

Governor Lincoln gave up his seat in Congress in 1841 
to accept the place of Collector of Customs at Boston. 
There is an implied censure for this action in the Diary of 
John Quincy Adams, who appears to have regarded it as a 



i8 

lapse in dignity on the part of one who had been in high 
official station. John Tyler removed the ex-Governor in 
1843, who, the next year, was elected to the State Senate, 
and made President of that body in 1845. He was Worces- 
ter's first Mayor in 1848. Acting with the Whig party (of 
which he was a recognized leader) until it ceased to exist, 
he finally gave his support to the Republicans in war-time, 
and as Presidential Elector, voted for Abraham Lincoln in 
1865. This was his last public service. He died May 
29th, 1868. 

The candidates for Congress opposed to Lincoln were 
Maturin L. Fisher in 1834, and Jubal Harrington in 1836. 
In 1838 the Democrats supported Isaac Davis, and some 
disaffected Whigs voted for Charles Allen, Isaac Davis 
was the Democratic candidate in 1840, and also at the 
special election in 1841. 

Charles Hudson, of Westminster, came next in order, 
serving from 1841 to 1849. He was a self-made man, and 
achieved distinction through native force of character and 
laborious habits. Born in Marlborough, November 14th, 
1795, he acquired the rudiments of an education under 
great difficulties, toiling until he reached manhood upon 
the farm. At first a schoolmaster, and then a Universalist 
minister, he entered political life at the age of thirty-three, 
and soon became prominent in State affairs. He was suc- 
cessively a member of the House and Senate, where he 
had much to do with educational and railroad matters ; and 
he was afterwards one of the Governor's Council. In Con- 
gress he made strong speeches in favor of the tariff, and 
against the Mexican war ; and took a decided, though not 
a radical position in regard to slavery. He was defeated 
at the election in 1848, ostensibly because he supported 
Zachary Taylor for President ; but other causes undoubt- 
edly contributed to this result. On retiring from Congress 
he issued a manly address to his constituency, in which he 
maintained the wisdom and consistency of his course. 



19 

Mr. Hudson was offered the place of Secretary of the 
Interior by President Taylor, which he declined. He was 
Naval Officer at Boston several years ; and in 1861 his old 
friend and fellow-member in the House of Representatives, 
Abraham Lincoln, gave him the lucrative office of Assessor 
of Internal Revenue for the Middlesex District. In his 
later life he was the author of town histories and other 
works which are much commended. He died at his home 
in Lexington May 4th, 1881. 

Pliny Merrick was the Democratic candidate for Congress 
in 1842. Isaac Davis in 1844 and 1848, and Walter A. 
Bryant in 1846, were the others during this period. The 
new Liberty Party candidates were Rev. C. P. Grosvenor 
in 1841, Phineas Crandall in 1842, and R. B. Hubbard in 
1844 and 1846. 

The name of Charles Allen is indissolubly connected 
with the Free Soil movement of 1848, which marked the 
beginning of the extinction of the Whig party. His part 
in that stirring contest was a prominent one ; and, as an 
uncompromising advocate of freedom, he may justly be 
ranked with Giddings, Hale, Chase, Sumner and Wilson. 
But it would be claiming too much for human nature to 
maintain that this revolt against the policy of the old 
leaders was purely one of principle, and that other elements 
and influences did not, in any degree, enter into it. A man 
of remarkable mental qualities, with that inflexibility of 
character inherited through the Adams blood, Judge Allen 
harbored strong personal dislikes, and was implacable in 
his resentment. His canvass for a seat in Congress, after 
he had repudiated the nomination of Taylor at Philadelphia, 
was conducted with great bitterness, and with an apparent 
intention to gibbet certain prominent men in the popular 
mind. His attack upon the private character of Webster, 
made in the House of Representatives, greatly impaired 
his usefulness and contracted his influence in that body. 



20 

Charles Allen, Member of Congress for two terms, 
from 1849 to 1853, was born in Worcester August 9th, 
1797. A son of Hon. Joseph Allen. He studied law, and 
practised in New Braintree, but soon returned to his native 
place. He was a member of the Massachusetts Legisla- 
ture several years, serving in both branches ; a member of 
the Northeastern Boundary Commission in 1842; and 
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, 1842 to 1845. He 
led the Free Soil forces of this locality in 1848, and, as a 
candidate for Congress, defeated Charles Hudson in No- 
vember ; but, lacking a majority, was not himself elected 
until the following January. 

On the resignation of Chief Justice Shaw, Judge Allen 
was tendered the appointment as his successor but declined 
it. He was Chief Justice of the Superior Court from 1859 
to 1867. A member of the Peace Congress of 1861. He 
died August 6th, 1869. Judge Allen was one of the ablest 
public men of his time, and had few equals at the bar. 
His powers were restricted through life by physical dis- 
ability. 

April 27th, 1852, eleven Districts were formed in the 
State. The Worcester District, designated as the Ninth, 
comprised thirty-seven towns in the County. 

Ira M. Barton was the Whig candidate for Congress in 
1850 and 1852. John S. C. Knowlton served the Demo- 
crats in 1850, Isaac Davis in 1852 and 1854, and Nathaniel 
Wood in 1856. J. G. Thurston received a few National 
American votes the year last named. 

Alexander DeWitt, Representative from 1853 to 1857, 
was born in New Braintree, April 2d, 1797. He received 
only a limited education, and made his way to success in 
life through his own exertions. As a cotton manufacturer 
he acquired a competency ; and became quite prominent 
in local politics. He represented Oxford several years in 
the Legislature, and was also a member of the Senate. 
An early and active Free-Soiler, he was supported by 



21 

Charles Allen and other prominent leaders of the Free 
Democracy, as a candidate for Representative in 1852, and 
was elected. Joining the Native American or "Know- 
Nothing" party, he was returned by the votes of that or- 
ganization in 1854, and again received its nomination in 
1856, when he was defeated. He died at Oxford on the 
13th of January, 1879. 

Colonel DeWitt was a man of much kindness of heart 
and manner, and his social qualities probably did more for 
his advancement than anything else. In Congress his good 
nature brought him into trouble at home, and it was as- 
serted that "his habits of intimacy and good fellowship with 
slave-holding members had materially weakened his stead- 
fastness of principle, and determination to stand by the 
rights and dignity of his constituents." His alacrity in 
holding up his cane at the request of Preston S. Brooks, 
when the latter was boasting before the House of his as- 
sault upon Senator Sumner, was much enlarged upon by 
stump speakers and newspapers. It was understood that 
he was not to be a candidate in 1856, and that the field 
would be clear for the nominee of the Republicans, who 
had become strong enough to demand a share of the offices. 
With this view, Henry Chapin, an aspirant to popular 
honors, received the Republican nomination, which he ac- 
cepted in person before the convention, and his name re- 
mained in the public prints for several days as the candi- 
date of that party. But if there was an agreement, the 
Know-Nothings broke it, and Colonel DeWitt was re- 
nominated ; his supporters judging, and with good reason, 
that his personal popularity would carry him in. After 
failing to effect a compromise, Mr. Chapin precipitately 
withdrew, leaving the Republicans in the lurch, and the 
way open, as it seemed, to an easy victory for DeWitt. In 
this emergency, Eli Thayer was brought forward, and after 
an extraordinary canvass of six days, elected, receiving 
8,920 votes to 4,414 for DeWitt. 



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